4 killed in U.S. drone strike in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, June 11 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed in a U.S. drone strike launched in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Wednesday night, reported local Urdu TV channel ARY.

The report about the strike came at about 8:40 p.m. local time when the U.S. unmanned aircraft reportedly fired two missiles at two houses suspected of being militant hideouts in the Ghulam Khan area of Miranshah, capital town of North Wairistan, a restive tribal region in the country, which borders Afghanistan.

Details about the killed are not known at this point.

The strike came just a day after a top cabinet meeting chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to fight back against terrorists following a Sunday night deadly attack launched by Pakistan Taliban at the country's largest civil airport in Karachi.

Wednesday night's U.S. drone strike is the first of its kind in Pakistan since December 25, 2013.

Local watchers believe that the strike could be a coordinated action between the Pakistani side and the United States as the last hope for the peace talks between the Pakistani government and Taliban was smashed following the Sunday attack on Karachi airport, which left 40 people including 10 attackers killed and over 20 others injured.

Late on Sunday night, 10 heavily armed militants, all in their 20s, stormed the terminal one of the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi with what the country's interior minister later described as an attempt to hijack planes.

The airport security forces and police, backed by the paramilitary troops Rangers and army, killed all the 10 attackers in a five-hour exchange of firing. Due to the attack, the Karachi airport was closed for more than 15 hours and over 20 flights including seven international flights were affected. Several planes were also slightly damaged in the attack.

Both Pakistan Taliban and an Uzbek militant group have claimed responsibility for the attack.